February 05, 2018: Ethiopian Airlines Group, the largest Aviation Holding Company in Africa and SKYTRAX certified Four Star Global Airline, has announced that it will commence direct flight from Addis Ababa to Chicago effective from June 02, 2018.

According to a release from the company, the services will be operated thrice weekly between the two destinations.

“Westbound, passengers from the entire continent of Africa, will connect to Chicago and beyond through our Addis Ababa hub in the late evenings; likewise, Eastbound travellers from the USA will also connect to all over Africa in the morning through Addis. In both cases, the connectivity is designed in such a way that we are able to avail one of the shortest total travel times for our customers,” said Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines.

He continued, “Chicago will be our 4th destination in the US and our 7th in the Americas. It is the third biggest city in the US and one of the most important global aviation hubs. We will be filling a critical air connectivity vacuum as our flights will be the only direct service between Chicago and Africa. Chicago is the main hub of our Star Alliance partner, United Airlines and the flight will be operated together with United to avail the best product for travellers from all over the US connecting to more than 55 destinations in Africa. The flight will further boost the growing economic and people-to-people relations between the U.S. and Africa in general and Ethiopia in particular by enabling a greater flow of trade, investment and tourism.”

The route will be operated with a Boeing 787, one of the most technologically advanced aircraft in the carrier’s fleet family, featuring up-to-date amenities with redefined travel experiences. Ethiopian was the pioneer African flag carrier starting service to the Americas’ in 1998.